Moses leads the people on from the Red Sea and they have some difficulty finding fresh, drinkable water.
"Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the desert of Shur." (Exodus 15:22a) Shur's precise location is debated by scholars and archaeologists but it has been mentioned three times previously in the Bible. When Hagar ran away from Sarah she was resting by the roadway to Shur when the angel of the Lord came and spoke with her. (Genesis 16:7) Abraham lived between Kadesh and Shur at one time. (Genesis 20:1) Ishmael's descendants settled in an area stretching from Havilah to Shur. (Genesis 25:18) In Genesis 16 we are told that there was a spring near the road to Shur and we do not know whether the Israelites drank or collected any water from that spring but we know that for three days after going into the desert called Shur they found no water. "For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water." (Exodus 15:22b)
I tend to think they didn't go thirsty for three days but that for three days they found no water with which to replenish their supply. They would have had to ration the water they had with them and would have been very concerned as the supply kept dwindling with no water source in sight. They were in danger of running out but I don't think the people and animals were waterless for three days. It only takes three to four days for a person or animal to perish without water under normal conditions. In hot desert conditions a person's or animal's situation would become dire much sooner. But whatever the case, after three days the people spotted an oasis but their relief quickly turned to fear and anger. "When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, 'What are we to drink?'" (Exodus 15:23-24)
Generally speaking, most commentaries regarding this passage of the Bible tend to be quite critical of the Israelites. That's because in the same chapter the Israelites go from singing the Lord's praises to believing He's going to allow them to perish of thirst in the wilderness. They fall from a spiritual high to a spiritual low. But this is actually quite "normal" for people living in a fallen world. We are never more in danger of hitting a spiritual low than right after something spiritually momentous has happened. That's when the devil is most likely to mount an attack against us. He does this because he has a better chance of catching us off guard while we're still basking in the glow of a spiritual breakthrough or while we're breathing happy sighs of relief over having a huge prayer answered. While we're relishing victory we may not stay "prayed up" and that's when that old serpent slithers in and whispers doubts to our minds or places temptations in our path.
For an example of this, let's consider the Apostle Peter on the night before the crucifixion. He had just experienced a very holy and moving Passover meal in which Jesus (the Messiah, the King of kings, the Lord of lords) humbly washed the disciples' feet. The Creator performed for the disciples a service only the lowest of household servants performed. We can imagine how honored Peter felt. What a spiritual high he must have been on during and after a meal in which his Maker communed so closely with him. But right after the meal the Lord Jesus warned Peter and the other disciples, "Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation." (Matthew 26:41, Mark 14:38) Jesus issued this warning because He knew Satan would show up looking for an opportunity to lure the men into doubt and fear. He also knew how the human body works; He not only created the human body but He lived in a human body Himself. He was very aware that spiritual highs burn energy. (I've actually felt breathless and exhausted during or after certain church services in which I felt the Spirit of the Lord so strongly that I thought my heart would burst with joy. Often right after a time of communing with the Lord I feel completely wrung out.) Jesus knew Peter and the others would feel tired when their emotions settled down a bit, so He warned them to stay alert and pray. But they fell asleep while He prayed in the garden alone and as a result Peter denied three times that night that he even knew Jesus.
Here in Exodus 15 the Israelites have come down from the spiritual high they experienced when the Lord rescued them from the Egyptians at the Red Sea. These people witnessed an awesome miracle, but since then they've traveled a long and dusty road for several days. They're hot and tired. If they don't find water soon they are going to be in crisis. Satan slithers onto the scene and whispers doubts to them. He uses their physical exhaustion and physical discomfort against them. They turn on Moses (and by extension, on God) and ask, "What are we supposed to do now? What good is it to be rescued from Egypt and to be brought through the Red Sea if we are only going to die of thirst in this hot land?"
Moses doesn't know what they are going to do, but his trust isn't in human ability to come up with an answer. He turns to the Lord for help. "Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink." (Exodus 15:25a) Some scholars believe the type of wood Moses threw into the water was capable of drawing bitter minerals into itself, thus making the water source drinkable. Others believe the wood may have symbolized the cross of Christ and that it was used not as a practical, scientific solution but was a miraculous curing of the water. I think the answer could be either or both.
Medically speaking, I found some online sources that suggest something about the water at Marah, or something about the wood, or something about the combination of the two may have purged the Israelites' systems of impurities from the diet they consumed in Egypt. You've heard of people doing "juice cleanses" and it's possible that something about the drinking of this water cleansed the people's bodies of things that would have done them harm during their long trek through the desert. The following verse seems to suggest a connection to physical health. "There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test. He said, 'If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.'" (Exodus 15:25b-26)
Part of the reason the Egyptians had physical maladies was due to their diet. Very little was considered unclean to them. The Lord is going to give the Israelites quite a few laws dealing with what they can and cannot eat. Another reason the Egyptians were afflicted in body and in mind was because of their idolatry. They served false gods who didn't require holy living. The Egyptians practiced a variety of sexual sins and fertility rites that led to becoming afflicted with venereal diseases. On top of all that, high-ranking Egyptians and the royal family typically intermarried with very close relatives, committing incest, and this led to all manner of birth defects and genetic illnesses. A great deal of evidence has been found both historically and medically to back this theory up. Quite a few pharaohs married half sisters, according to the historical records. And the medical study of preserved mummies has shown that a number of them were born with ailments that tend to be the result of inbreeding. The Lord is going to put laws in place that specifically spell out how close is too close of a relation for marriage and He is not going to condone any type of sexual relations except those which occur between a man and woman who are married to each other. If the people follow His laws regarding diet and regarding marriage and sexual relations, they will naturally be spared from a lot of the ailments that befell the ancient Egyptians.
The people drink the water that has been made sweet and agree with the Lord that they will do whatever He commands. He leads them on to a place that is like a resort area in the desert. "Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water." (Exodus 15:27) How refreshing and restful this must have been! The Lord knows exactly what they need exactly when they need it. He's teaching them by their trials to learn to trust Him (such as letting them find bitter water in order to show them He can turn bitter water to sweet) but He also refreshes their weary bodies and spirits when they need it. They are learning that He comes through when their circumstances are troubling and that He is capable of providing times of peace and tranquility.
Thanks be to God that He hasn't made every day of our lives a day of toiling in the desert. He provides us with refreshing oases where our strength is restored.
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